Money

I think that by the time kids reach the age of two they know about money, and they are more likely to appreciate a fiver than a toy or a sweet. They know they can spend it just as they wish

A couple of weeks ago I was in the queue in the petrol station to pay £100+ for a tank of diesel in the Land Rover and in front of me (causing the holdup) was a young person aged about seven.

He had collected various goodies from the sweets shelves and was in the course of paying.

He placed a hand full of coppers on the counter and the assistant was counting them into piles of 10p.

Eventually she told him the hard truth. His money amounted to a little short of that required.

I fumbled around in my pocket with a couple of pounds in my fist thinking "if he needs two or three pence to complete the deal I could just give it to him"

The final reckoning stopped me in my tracks -  the goods cost 84p and he only had 67p to his name. 20% + to find he was well short! "Lessons have to be learned" I thought, so I kept quiet and my hand in my pocket.

"You will have to put some of your stuff back on the shelves" he was told. He did this and the revised cost was 52p. With the purchase completed satisfactorily he placed his change into the charity box on the counter.

It amused me - but he may not go on to feature in the Sunday Times Richlist